Attorney General James Protects New York City Tenants from Illegal Lockouts

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with Spigro Management, LLC (Spigro) and its lead property manager Saul Friedman for illegally evicting people from their homes by changing the locks on their apartment doors while they were not home. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found Spigro unlawfully evicted individuals living in apartment buildings in Brooklyn and the Bronx on at least four occasions. As a result of OAG’s intervention, Spigro will pay statutory and compensatory damages of between $1,000 and $1,200 to the four unlawfully evicted victims in addition to $23,500 in penalties. Spigro will also be obligated to create an “internal lockout” policy to ensure tenants’ locks are not changed without their knowledge, which will be monitored by the OAG for the next three years to ensure compliance.

“Spigro callously violated the trust, safety, and privacy of occupants by illegally changing their locks while they were not home,” said Attorney General James. “Attempting to evict people from their homes by sneaking in and changing the locks is as sinister as it is shameful. My office will always take action against any property manager or landlord that violates tenants’ rights.”

Based in Brooklyn, Spigro manages more than 40 buildings including over 3,000 units throughout New York City. Many of these properties are cooperatives (co-ops) or condominiums with pre-conversion tenants remaining rent-stabilized.

In New York City, all lawful occupants who have resided for 30 days or more in their home have the right to remain in their home unless they choose to leave or are lawfully evicted through a court process. Surprise lockouts or “self-help evictions” are illegal. In May 2025, OAG opened an investigation into Spigro after receiving complaints concerning illegal lockouts. The investigation revealed that on at least four occasions, Spigro had illegally evicted occupants from four different properties in Brooklyn and the Bronx between 2020 and 2025. 

• In one case, an adopted son of the tenant who had lived in a Spigro building in Brooklyn for more than 22 years came back to his apartment after taking out the trash to find that his lock had been changed. The tenant’s mother had recently passed away, and Spigro claimed they believed his mother had lived alone in the unit. The very next day, the same tenant found out from a neighbor that the landlord had been removing his possessions from the unit without permission.
• Another individual who had lived in a Spigro building in the Bronx with his father for 45 years found that his lock had been changed shortly after his father passed away. Although the tenant requested succession rights to the rent stabilized apartment, Spigro decided to change the locks and claimed that the son had never lived there.
• Shortly after his partner’s death, a third Spigro occupant found that his key fob, which granted him access to his building, had been deactivated. Spigro claimed that a family member had permitted them to change the locks, though no other family members had legal authorization to do so.
• The fourth person worked for Spigro as a porter and resided in the basement of a building in Brooklyn. The porter was injured on the job and required surgery, so he filed for workers’ compensation. When he returned home from surgery, he found that Spigro had changed his lock and terminated his employment. When the porter attempted to regain access to his unit, Spigro claimed he had never worked there.

Under the terms of the settlement with OAG, Spigro must pay individual restitution to the four occupants OAG found to be illegally evicted by September 15, 2026. Spigro must also pay $23,500 in penalties. Spigro is required to develop an internal lockout policy to provide clear rules and guidance to Spigro employees regarding the necessary legal processes for changing tenants’ locks. As part of the lockout policy, Spigro employees will be required to keep a log of all lock changes, including the relevant legal authority and the date of the change. Spigro must also affirmatively notify all current tenants of their rights related to unlawful evictions. Spigro must notify OAG of any future unlawful eviction allegations for the next three years to ensure their actions comply with the laws and their internal policies.

This is the latest action taken by Attorney General James to protect New York tenants. In June 2026, Attorney General James announced the first settlements with two banks and the first lawsuits against two New York City landlords reached under OAG’s de facto compliance program focused on enforcing “de facto” rent stabilization in buildings throughout New York City. In May 2026, Attorney General James secured an agreement to close the predatory law firm for taking advantage of New York City tenants facing eviction. In March 2026, Attorney General James announced new protections for 25 low-income families who were forced out of their affordable housing units in Rochester. In February 2026, Attorney General James sued the owners and managers of an apartment complex in Orange County for leaving residents to endure horrific conditions. In October 2025, Attorney General James stopped a Montgomery County property owner and his companies from illegally discriminating against low-income New Yorkers. In April 2025, Attorney General James secured a settlement with property owners in the Capital Region for illegally denying housing to low-income renters who were using housing assistance. In December 2025, Attorney General James announced a settlement with Steven Kashanian and BlueSky for violating city construction codes and creating unsafe and unsanitary conditions for hundreds of tenants.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Justin R. La Mort. The Housing Protection Unit is led by Brent Meltzer and is a part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.